


I want a house with a crowded table

by wildlingoftarth



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Found Family, childfree brienne proponents look away, extremely established, it's what they deserve, jaime and brienne as a sweet old retired couple, with a buttload of grandkids
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28428948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildlingoftarth/pseuds/wildlingoftarth
Summary: It is a life she never dared to hope for, never dreamed of in her days of fighting for this king or that, being sent on a series of seemingly impossible errands she accomplished through sheer force of will, and falling desperately and irrevocably in love along the way. That the man she’d fallen for had somehow developed the same feelings for her still fills her with astonishment at times, even after all these years.
Relationships: Jaime Lannister/Brienne of Tarth
Comments: 35
Kudos: 107
Collections: JB Festive Festival Exchange Stocking Stuffers 2020





	I want a house with a crowded table

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cardinalgirl75](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cardinalgirl75/gifts), [Roccolinde](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Roccolinde/gifts), [jencat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jencat/gifts), [nire](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nire/gifts), [winterkill](https://archiveofourown.org/users/winterkill/gifts), [potato_writes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/potato_writes/gifts), [sdwolfpup](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sdwolfpup/gifts), [EryiScrye (SomberSecrets)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomberSecrets/gifts).



> I’m in my Brandi Carlile feelings again ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯
> 
> For Cardinalgirl75, roccolinde, jencat, nire, winterkill, potato_writes, sdwolfpup, and eryiscrye, who all requested some iteration of found family/domesticity/established relationship fluff.
> 
> I made myself cry writing this. Enjoy!

_I want a house with a crowded table  
And a place by the fire for everyone  
Let us take on the world while we're young and able  
And bring us back together when the day is done_   
_-The Highwomen,["Crowded Table"](https://open.spotify.com/track/5HuaHij4kVpfEVv93MYCeW)_

“Come sit down, love. You pacing back and forth in front of the window isn’t going to make them arrive any faster.”

Brienne chews her thumbnail and looks over at her husband, who is lounging in his favorite upholstered chair by the fire. Jaime’s cane leans on one arm of the chair and his right arm, sleeve rolled up to expose the end of his stump, dangles over the other. The blunted hook he’d begun favoring shortly after their arrival on Tarth sits on a small table near the chair. His silvery hair and beard sparkle in the firelight, and though his face is lined and weathered, his emerald eyes are just as sharp as they were when they’d first met a lifetime ago. Their dog, Thistle, a mangy little stray they’d found sniffing around the kitchens at Evenfall, is curled up on Jaime’s feet in front of the fireplace. Thistle’s age has begun to show, too, in her graying muzzle and growing propensity for sleep, but she still possesses just as much verve as her beloved master.

Brienne knows she won’t be able to sit and relax, but she compromises and moves away from the window, busying herself with the place settings at the long table that dominates the small common area in their cabin, picking things up and putting them back down a hair to the left or right. She and Jaime had retired to this little cabin on the outskirts of Evenfall Hall when the duties of Evenstar had begun taking their toll on Brienne and when she and Jaime felt their eldest child, Arthur, was ready to take on the mantle.

Although passing on the title long before she died was seen as a controversial decision, Brienne had decided some years ago she did not want to die as the Evenstar but instead wanted her twilight years to be spent doing the things she truly loves. Instead of traveling and poring over ledgers and managing the conflicts of the smallfolk, she fills her days tending to the garden outside their little cabin and walking along the beach with Jaime and Thistle and spoiling their ever-expanding brood of grandchildren with sweets.

It is a life she never dared to hope for, never dreamed of in her days of fighting for this king or that, being sent on a series of seemingly impossible errands she accomplished through sheer force of will, and falling desperately and irrevocably in love along the way. That the man she’d fallen for had somehow developed the same feelings for her still fills her with astonishment at times, even after all these years.

“Here they come,” Jaime says from his chair, and Brienne rushes to the window. Arthur and his wife, Ellyn, walk hand-in-hand down the hill from Evenfall as their children, Gerion, Galladon and Little Alys, run and tumble through the grass in front of them. The two boys share Arthur and Brienne’s straw-blonde hair (though Brienne’s tends more to white with each passing day), and Alys inherited her mother’s chestnut curls.

Behind them, Brienne and Jaime's middle child, Alysanne, and her husband, Harry, each hold a toddler on their hip as their older children, Brynden and Oliver, run to catch up with their cousins. The curly-haired twins, Willow and Saffron, squirm in their parents' arms, but their little legs are not yet able to handle the steep incline of the hill.

Brienne does not see her youngest child, Joy, but she knows she will eventually - Joy carries on her custom of doing things in her own time or not at all. In fact, Joy's very existence began like this, showing up as she did long after Brienne thought her childbearing days were over. Joy is barely out of her teens but has been staunchly anti-marriage ever since she was old enough to understand the concept, and insists being aunt to her siblings' rowdy broods is enough. If Brienne has noticed that Joy looks at certain other young women the way she herself once looked at Renly and the way she still looks at Jaime, she doesn’t say a word.

Thistle stands at the door prancing and wagging her tail while they wait for their family to enter. Brienne savors her last few moments of silence before Gerion and Brynden burst through the door, already grappling and laughing, followed by the rest of the children, the twins toddling behind shrieking at their bigger cousins. Brienne bends down to scoop Willow up and press a kiss to her wriggling cheek before depositing her back down and doing the same to Saffron.

“Boys,” Arthur’s voice booms out from the doorway. “At least say hello to your grandparents before you break everything in their house.” Gerion and Brynden release their grips on each other’s necks long enough to hug Brienne and Jaime quickly around the waists, Jaime having gotten up from his chair to greet his family. The rest of their grandchildren gather around them for hugs and kisses before resuming their play. Little Alys, the quietest of the seven, settles in front of the fire and strokes Thistle’s fur. The twins spot the basket of toys they keep on hand for this purpose and proceed to dump the entire contents on the floor, while the boys wrestle and play-fight in what little floor space is free.

“Hello, Mother,” says Arthur in a somewhat exasperated tone as he puts an arm around Brienne and presses a kiss to her forehead. He grew up even taller and broader than Brienne and Jaime, somehow, and she feels small in his presence. Ellyn, Harry, and Alysanne greet them in turn, Alysanne having the harried, exhausted look Brienne remembers so well from when her children were active toddlers.

Jaime sits back down in his chair with Arthur in the one across from him, Alysanne and Ellyn settle on the couch, and Harry crouches on the floor with the twins. As much as Brienne loves the solitude and quiet of her cabin, she looks forward to her family’s once-weekly trek from the “big house,” as they call Evenfall, to the “little house” more than she can say. Though Evenfall is beautiful, and was home for many years, this little space that frequently fills to bursting with family has become even more dear to her.

As Brienne is pulling the roast, vegetables and potatoes out of the oven, the door flies open and Joy walks through with no ceremony. Her practice sword is still strapped to her waist and there is a sheen of sweat on her forehead, so she must have just come from the training yard. She and Podrick, who has served as Evenfall’s Master-at-Arms since he was Joy’s age, train together frequently, and Joy has cultivated a reputation for being as fierce a fighter as her mother once was.

“I invited Ser Podrick and his family to dinner,” Joy says as she unstraps her sword and lays it with a loud clunk on the table, her long golden braid swinging down her back. The twins have attached themselves to her legs, and she smiles and pretends to struggle to walk with them holding on. They squeal and laugh when she crumples to the floor, taking them down with her.

“Oh,” Brienne says, eyeing the already-set table warily. Jaime rises from his chair and lays a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Always room for a few more,” he says, kissing her on her scarred cheek before reaching into a cupboard to bring out more plates. He enlists Harry to shift the place settings and squeezes in four additional places somehow, dragging the chairs from their little study over to the table.

Brienne is searching in the pantry for anything she can add to stretch their dinner when a knock comes at the door, barely perceptible over the cacophony of adults talking and children laughing. Arthur rises from his seat in front of the fireplace and opens the door to Podrick, smiling his familiar smile and holding a basket full of bread and cheese.

"Oh, thank you, Pod!" Brienne cries when she sees the basket of food, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek before taking it to the kitchen. His wife, Jeyne, and their children follow behind, greeting the adults and children in turn.

Their daughter, Briony, is Joy’s age and looks remarkably like her father, with big brown doe eyes and thick brown hair. Their son, James, is three years younger and, though he is technically a man grown now, still indulges Gerion, Galladon, Brynden and Oliver when they tug on his sleeves and beg him to play knights.

Briony finds Joy right away and sits close to her on the floor, where she is playing with the twins. She twirls Joy’s braid around her finger and says something into Joy’s ear that makes her blush and smile. The girls grew up together and were like sisters at one time, though Brienne has noticed the manner of their closeness shifting as of late.

"I hope we're not intruding," Jeyne says as she helps Brienne put the bread and cheese on a platter. She has fiery red hair and a personality to match, and although she barely comes up to Brienne’s chest, she has more presence than most people double her stature.

"Oh, not at all," Brienne replies. “We’re always delighted to see you.” She watches Joy and Briony a little more, then whispers to Jeyne conspiratorially. “Although I think Joy may have had her own motives for inviting you.”

Jeyne glances over her shoulder at the two young women, who are looking at each other like they are the only ones in the room despite the chaos surrounding them. She raises her eyebrow and smiles at Brienne, who smiles back and returns to her task.

Brienne brings the roast and vegetables to the table and Jeyne does the same with the bread and cheese, and between that and the two blackberry pies Ellyn had baked earlier in the day, there is more than enough to go around. They sit shoulder to shoulder around the long wood table, with Jaime at one end and Arthur at the other, the rest of the children and adults sat haphazardly in the mismatched chairs. Their elbows bump and glasses clatter and Brienne can barely hear herself think over the lively conversation, but she thinks it the most pleasing sound in the world.

After dinner, the adults sip cups of mulled wine while the children play. Little Alys and Oliver are engrossed in a game of cyvasse, the older boys play some card game they've invented, and Willow lays in front of the fire with Thistle while Saffron sits in Brienne's lap and nuzzles drowsily into her neck. Joy and Briony sit side by side on the floor, Briony's head lying on Joy's shoulder, their pinkies intertwined. Judging by the lack of reaction from their siblings, Brienne figures she was the last to know about the nature of their relationship.

Brienne watches her family, those bound by blood, those created by oaths and vows, and those whose ties were forged through battle and trauma, warm and well-fed and loved and in love. She catches Jaime's eye and finds he's already looking at her with a smile so fond that it makes tears prick at her eyes. Back when it was only the two of them, she worried she would never be able to love another person as intensely as she loved Jaime, but with every new addition to their family, she finds her heart able to squeeze in one more place. Right now, it is so full that she is amazed her body is able to contain it.

Brienne is the first female knight in Westeros. She is a hero of the Long Night. She is a beloved and accomplished Evenstar who led her island through many years of peace and affluence.

But even if she had none of that, if this was her only legacy...it would be enough.


End file.
